Column: Michael Sam isn’t perfect

Whether you like it or not, it happened.

The introduction of defensive lineman Michael Sam as the first openly gay player on an NFL roster represents a fascinating dichotomy to the world of sports.

On one hand, it’s a monumental achievement not only for the gay community but for society’s advancement as a whole.

Twenty years ago, in the days of Magic Johnson scandal and the attention the AIDS epidemic received, this whole situation Michael Sam is going through probably never could have happened.

But with the increasingly laissez-faire attitude we’re taking with peoples’ personal lives, players are finally comfortable being honest with their sexuality in pro sports.

That’s a big deal, considering not so long ago the industry’s status quo on sexual tolerance was more like Ted Nugent than Harvey Milk.

And there couldn’t have been a better harbinger for this new, exciting era of not caring that really doesn’t affect us in the first place.

Although the Rams didn’t draft him until the seventh round of the NFL draft, Sam was the Southeastern Conference player of the year and a unanimous NCAA All-American as he dominated his competition on a national stage all season long, making himself a household name in the SEC.

He conducts himself with poise and class, and his communication skills are as impressive as Adam “Pac Man” Jones’ are terrible.

He commended his University of Missouri teammates for accepting him for who he was, and he made sure the media knew he wanted to be thought of as a football player first and foremost.

But to say he’s handled the whole situation perfectly is a stretch.

Although Sam said he wanted to be thought of as a football player first, his actions from the draft onward have contradicted his initial intentions in more ways than one.

The idea that a seventh-round pick had NFL cameras in his house on day three of the excruciatingly long NFL draft suggests the league might have decided to use his sexuality for public relations.

But you can’t blame that all on Sam.

What he is responsible for, though, is the fact that when he got drafted, the first thing he did was lock lips with his boyfriend in a way that made Miami Dolphins safety Don Jones tweet his eloquent views on the matter, “Omg” and “Horrible.”

Jones was wrong to go full-Tea Party on Twitter, but to say Sam handled draft day with the focus he said he wanted, wasn’t reflected in his actions after he was picked.

He and his boyfriend were the only ones in frame during the whole ordeal, and it’s hard to deny it seemed at least a little contrived and put-on.

The kiss itself didn’t make me uncomfortable. It just seemed as if Sam used the opportunity to make a statement after he tried to downplay the whole issue in the months prior to the NFL draft.

And only a few days after he was drafted, the talks began with former daytime TV mogul Oprah Winfrey on starting a documentary series about his life as the first  ever openly gay football player.

Nothing about that screams self-effacement, and the fact the Rams had to nix the series doesn’t exactly match up with his previous feelings of wanting to be treated like every other football player.

But even with all that, I couldn’t be happier for Sam. He has a bright future ahead of him, and that he even got drafted shows our society is changing for the better.

We’re becoming more tolerant, and peoples’ personal lives just aren’t mattering as much when they don’t affect us.

That’s exactly how it should be.

aknorth@indiana.edu